A Shadow Passed
by SecretLifeOfAChemNerd
Summary: "You don't love him." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "You might have loved him once, but you don't anymore. You can't love someone unless you love yourself first. He's made you into someone your not." PUCKLEBERRY! I suck at summarie
1. Chapter 1

AN/: Heyyyy! So this is what happens when I'm bored during finals week, with nothing better to do then write! The entire story is actually completed. It's really just a matter of when I can get around to typing it all out. I hope you like this (Its my first multi-chapter and Glee fic EVER!) so please review if you could (it would make me very happy! =D)

Warnings: Set after Sectionals, so there might be some spoilers (although I don't think there are) from the first half.

It had started out innocent enough. A simple sentence, "You wanna, you know, maybe go out for pizza or something with me, on a date?" That one sentence and she had become Finn Hudson's girlfriend, which after all, was what she had always wanted. It was about a month before anything went wrong.

They were out at dinner and she was talking about everything and nothing at the same time, just happily sharing her thought with Finn. Suddenly he said "God, Rachel why are being so fucking annoying?' She blinked as a small "What?" passed through her lips. He rolled his eyes and kick his chair back unto two legs. "You always go on and on about random stuff, when you don't realize that I don't wanna hear it. I've got enough on my plate, don't need to listen to you blabbing too!" A moment of awkward silence passed until Finn started to complain about Spanish class that day like nothing had happened.

Rachel let it go. She realized that she was high maintenance and could be a little conceited, but did he really have to tell her off so harshly? But it was only one time, he was probably just having a bad day, he did have a lot to worry about with Quinn lying to him about the baby and his best friend being the father of said baby.

Sadly it wasn't the last time Finn would hurt her. At the beginning of their relationship it was just a comment here or there that would sting, but then pass and the "real" Finn would be back. But as time dragged on his "little comments" became full blown speeches ("Rachel what are you wearing? I told you last week that your animal sweaters are NOT hot! Why can't you wear clothes that at least make you look a little attractive?" ) and his attitude was more controlling ("Did I say you could go there? What the fuck Rachel? Now you're just going behind my back ! Way to be a beyond shitty girlfriend!). But he never laid a hand on her. Never once hit her.

Rachel had everything she had ever wanted. She was the star of glee club, and had the quarterback boyfriend. So why wasn't she happy? At night she would stay up crying, only to be told the next morning that her red rimmed eye were "so not hot" by Finn.

No one suspected a thing. They were glee's power couple, the ones everyone looked up to. Nothing could possibly be wrong.

She knew she should put up with Finn and his put downs, but she loved him, had loved him since they very first met, and he loved her too, right? He had too. If he didn't love her then he wouldn't be with her, he would be with one of the other girls that were lined up to date him. He must love her.

That was the only thing that got her through each day. _He loves me. He loves me._ She ran through her head as she was biting back tears, Finn's word slapping her in the face. After all he had too. Didn't he?

-*GLEE*-

Rachel Berry was being a lot less annoying, and loud, and generally a pain in the ass lately. Something had to be wrong.

She didn't sing as much anymore. Don't get him wrong she still sang a fucking lot, but she didn't diva out when every solo wasn't handed to her. He was practically gaping when she didn't say a word as Mr. Shue gave a solo from _Spring Awakening _to Santana. She also didn't jump up in the middle of glee announcing that she thinks they should perform this song or that for regionals, followed by an example (aka her getting up to sing and basically show off to everyone.).

One day in early February he got to glee early (don't judge, he just didn't have anywhere else to be, it's not cause he liked it or whatever). When he entered the choir room she was sitting at the piano staring at the black and white keys, tears in her eyes. When he asked what was wrong she jumped, having not noticed him enter, and quickly brushed it off as nothing, launching into a long winded speech about how they were in deep need to prepare for regionals and that she had many new ideas to push them ahead of Vocal Adrenaline. He didn't buy any of it.

She didn't have the spring in the step or the shine in her eyes anymore. She looked empty and hurt. Something had changed Rachel Berry, and not in a positive way, and damn it Noah Puckerman was gonna find out what it was. It wasn't like Rachel had a lot of friends, so who was gonna look out for her if he didn't? (It had absolutely nothing to do with the way his heart sped up every time he saw her.) Even though glee had really come together as a family over the last few months, Rachel was still the one left out it seemed. The only person she was really close to was Finn. But there was no way in hell Finn was smart enough to take care of Rachel, so Puck would just have to handle it himself.


	2. Chapter 2

AN/ Thanks so much to everyone who has added this story to their alerts or favorites. And thanks so much to izzabella11 & PurpleSharpie98795 for reviewing! I am now giving you both a virtual cookie! But hope you like this chapter!

She suppose she knew deep inside that it wouldn't last, that it would only be a matter of time before he broke down and hit her, but it didn't mean she was any less shocked when she found herself in her bathroom look at the emerging bruise on her cheek. She thanked god for makeup as she reached for her bag and went to work, wincing as she rubbed concealer on.

It was all her fault. If she hadn't shown up late for their date he wouldn't have started yelling. She tried explaining that her car had gotten a flat tire on the way over to his house and she had had to change it by herself, but he wouldn't listen. He yelled and screamed that she didn't care about them anymore, that he was always the one who carried the relationship, and that she should put a little more effort in or they were over. Rachel couldn't help it and started crying. She did try, she wanted them to work out, how could he not see that? The tears only made him angrier.

She hadn't seen it coming, but the next thing she knew his fist had connected with her face. She stumbled backward and nearly fell over. Her cheek was stinging and she couldn't breath. Her eyes were wide as she started at him, a sob escaping from her chest.

A moment of shocked silence passed and then he had his arms around her, whispering that her was sorry, that it would never happen again, and that he loved her. It was the first time he ever actually said the words "I love you" to her. She forgave him. It was her fault after all. If she hadn't been late he wouldn't have gotten mad. She returned his "I love you" and Finn exhaled a sigh of relief jumping on the topic of glee and regionals. Rachel couldn't keep a sick nauseous feeling out of her stomach.

As soon as she returned home for the night she was sick. She hadn't even had the time to greet her fathers before bolting upstairs to her bathroom. _So much for no gag reflex_ she thought as the contents of her stomach left her. And now she was desperately trying to cover up the quickly darkening bruise on her cheek as she heard her fathers standing outside the door, asking if she was ok. It got disguised well, no one would be the wiser.

That night she cried herself to sleep. She couldn't say why, but as soon as she assured her fathers that she was ok ("Really, it was just a bad taco or something at school. I feel fine now, honest. No need too worry.) she crawled under the comforter and just cried, feeling worthless.

The morning came all to fast and when Rachel's alarm went off at 6:00am sharp, she groaned and grudgingly got up. Standing made the nauseous feeling return to her stomach. Walking to the bathroom she felt like she might be sick again. She turned to face the mirror and gasped. The light purple and blue colors that had been present on her cheek yesterday were gone, replaced with dark purple and black. She knew just looking at it that no amount of makeup would be able to cover it up. That thought sent her over the edge and she found herself again vomiting in the toilet.

She arrived at school later than she normally would. Her plan was to barley make the bell so she wouldn't have to stand in the hall and attract stares. Rachel didn't look as bad as she had this morning, but it was far from flawless. The concealer had dimmed down some of the harsh purple and black to make it look less serve, though it was still painful. When her fathers questioned her about it, she simply stated that she had accidentally run into a wall at Finn the night before. They laughed and told her she should be more careful of where she was going.

When the clock in her car read 8:05 she figured it was safe to enter the school. She had to sprint to make it to first hour, but that had been the plan all along. Her butt had just touched her seat in Mr. O'Reilly's Geography and History of the World class when the 8:10 bell rang to start class. It wasn't until halfway through Mr. O's lecture on South Africa that she felt a light tap on her shoulder. "What'd ya do Berry, tackle a mailbox with your face?"

Rachel spun around in her seat. Puck sat in the seat directly behind her and had his usual smirk in place as his eyes lingered on her cheek. "What?" she said, panic starting to bubble in her stomach.

Surprisingly he chuckled quietly "When I was twelve I accidentally ran into a mailbox playing football with Finn and some other guys. I had a bruise that looked exactly like that, same place, only a lot worse. It was totally badass!"

"It was nothing Noah I simply wasn't paying attention to my path and ran into a wall."

Puck's expression changed slightly, he looked skeptical. "Right, now you're gonna tell me what really happened. There is no way a wall did that! I've ran into one of those too! No way you're telling the truth!"

"That's really what happened Noah, I am not lying. And how many injuries to the head have you had exactly?" She was trying desperately to brush him off. The last thing she needed was for Puck to get involved, when it reality it wasn't a big deal. Finn had apologized, promised it would never happen again, and told her that he loved her. There was absolutely nothing he could do because there wasn't anything to fix. They would be fine now.

"That's not the point Berry!" Puck said pulling her back into reality. "You can tell me." His hazel eyes were looking straight into hers "And I promise if it's funny I'll only laugh a little." He had his cocky grim back on by the time he was done speaking, but Rachel was never one to fall for his charm.

Drawing on her years of highly tuned acting skills Rachel looked Puck straight in the eye and said "I am telling you the truth, if you don't believe me then fine, but if you don't mind I would like to get back to listening to Mr. O'Reilly as I need to maintain my GPA so that I will be looked at in consideration for many fine colleges when I graduate." With a flip of her hair she was facing the front of the room again.

The whole period she could feel Puck's eyes on her. When the bell rang signaling the end of class she sprang out of her seat and into the hallway like a bat outta hell, giving Puck no chance to question her further.

Everyone besides Puck who asked her about 'the bruise' that day believed her lie. Most of them laughed and told Rachel she needed to pay more attention when she was walking, or as Santana so nicely put it "God Man Hands, what happened? Found out you could walk and talk at the same time?" to which Brittany replied "Don't worry Rachel, it took me years to get it down."

The final bell of the day rang at 3:15 dismissing the student from class. Rachel rushed to the choir room for glee practice (it was always good to be early) and took her usual seat front and center.

She hadn't talked to Finn all day. They didn't have any classes or lunch together, but he usually found her in the hallways, but not today. When he entered the choir room with Mike and Matt, he took one look at Rachel and rolled his eyes. Coming over to her he was clearly pissed. "What's wrong?" she squeaked out was he sat down next to her eyeing the clothes she had on.

"Not now." he practically snarled as Mr. Shuster walked in to start rehearsal. The entire time they were learned the newest dance moves and harmonies for regionals Rachel could feel Puck's eyes on her.

****GLEE****

Finn wouldn't talk to Rachel during glee. When practice ended all he said was that they needed to talk. He drove her to his house in silence, his face stony and cold. It scared Rachel. The sick feeling was back.

After what felt like a lifetime they pulled up to Finn's house and got out of his car. When they were settled in the living room Finn broke the silence. "What did I say about the animal sweaters?" His stare was icy and Rachel flinched at the harshness etched into the words. "I told you not to wear them! They make you look like a fucking joke!"

"I like them Finn." she said timidly "What does it matter what anyone else thinks?"

"It matters what I think!"

"So now I can't even wear what I want anymore?"

His hand flew out, but instead of hitting her like she expected he grabbed onto the back of her head, pulling her hair. "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" he screamed, his fingernails digging into the back of her head.

Rachel was gasing, trying to draw in breath when her lungs weren't working. "Please just let me go." she breathed, barley any sound coming out, but the terror evident in her voice.

"LOOK AT YOU! YOUR PATHETIC!" His grip tightened and she cried out in pain.

"Please, just let me go." she looked into his eyes, so different from the ones she used to know. "I'll do it ok! I'll stop wearing the sweater!"

His hand relaxed and let go of her. She immediately took several steps back, distancing herself incase he lashed out again. "Now was that so hard?" He plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. Rachel regretted not driving her own car to his house. She just stood there until he sighed "Rachel, come over here." he patted the seat nest to him. His voice was softer, not hard and icy, but comforting, it was her Finn.

She slowly came over and sat in the seat he had indicated. "Look Rach, I know that I'm hard on you sometimes, but I'm just going through a lot right now. The whole baby gate drama and everything. I guess I'm just not really over it yet." He looked into her brown eyes. "I love you Rachel. You know that?"

She couldn't help a small (but sad) smile from appearing on her face. "I understand Finn." He beamed at he as she continued "What Quinn did to you was wrong and perverse, and I promise never to put you through anything like that."

"Thanks Rach." He sighed again "And I'm sorry I blew up at you."

"It's ok." Rachel said hurriedly, hoping they could just make up and get over this quickly. "It's my fault anyway. I didn't listen to you and I should have. I'm sorry,"

"It's fine Rach, I forgive you."

"I love you Finn."

"Love you too babe."

Ta-da! Chapter 2 complete! And don't worry next chapter will contain lots and lots of Puckleberry goodness! The teacher Mr. O'Reilly is my actaul Geography teacher. He's crazy! Like seriously crazy, but fun at the same time! I wrote this in his class so I decided to put him in it. And when Puck said he ran into a mailbox and got a giant bruise, yeah that happen to me when I was like 8 years old. Not fun, let me tell you! haha but thanks for reading and please review cause they are like crack to me! I have a seriously problem! =D


	3. Chapter 3

AN/: I had the most wonderful time while typing this out! =D It was storming (still is!) and i was just typing and listening to the rain and thunder, and ocassionally the glee version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart"! And I was so happy with the amount of people who added this story to their alerts and reviewed! You guys rocks my sox! So i hope you have a mighty good time reading Chapter 3!

Finn kept his promise. He never hit Rachel again. That didn't mean that she didn't wake up to find bruises on her arms were he had grabbed her tightly, or that her head wouldn't be sore from where he pulled her hair.

They got into a cycle. First the comments would start. He would insult her looks, or her personality, or worse, her singing. That would continue for a few days until Rachel did a little thing wrong. He would yell and grab her, and even occasionally push her down, but never hit her. Then he would say he loved her and for a few days the "real Finn" would be back with the puppy dog eyes and smile she had fallen for. Rinse, Lather, and repeat for two months straight.

During the last weeks of school Quinn had her baby. Beth's adoptive parents lived just outside of Cincinnati, the guy was a successful lawyer, while his wife stayed home, and in her spare time volunteered at about a thousand different charities. They were the perfect family for baby Fabray to go to. Rachel hoped that after Quinn had the baby, and Finn's daily reminder of what she has done to him was gone, he would loosen up a bit. She shouldn't have.

As summer grew closer and closer the times she saw the Dr. Jekyll of Finn's personality was shrinking and her time with Mr. Hyde was growing exponentially, along with all his harsh words and broken promises. Most night she found herself being sick from the nausea that would pool in her stomach after a night out with Mr. Hyde. She supposed it was her hating herself because she couldn't make Finn happy like he used to be. She was worthless and pathetic. She didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve anything.

Regionals were held on the Saturday before the last week of school. This was Rachel's chance to turn things around, to make Finn happy. All they had to do was win. But things had not been going Rachel's way for a very long time. Vocal Adrenaline barely edged out New Direction, one point was all the separated them. The team was crushed.

Rachel woke up the next morning to fresh hand-shaped bruises all up her arms and scrapes and burns on both her knees from were she had been thrown to the ground. It was her fault they lost regionals. She was their star, she should have tried harder, should have wanted it more, shouldn't have been (in Finn's words) "such a god awful fuck up!".

On the last day of school Rachel dressed in a surprisingly conservative fashion. Having put on leggings to cover her scraped knees (she'd used the "I fell down" excuse one to many times) and a sweater (even though summer was quickly approaching) so the bruises on her arms wouldn't show. She looked in the mirror before she headed into the hallway. _Ugly_ was the only thought crossed her mind.

Rachel had always been tiny, she was only 5'1" after all and had never been anything but a beanpole when it came to weight, but the last few months had taken a toll on her body. The constant vomiting (she did it nearly every day) caused her to shrink even more than she already was. She was practically skeletal. The clothes that had once fit her snuggly now hung off. Her face was sunken and she had dark circled under her eyes. She'd given up on makeup a long time ago. No matter how much time she spent in the morning perfecting her look Finn always ignored it or told her (depend on just how much makeup she had on) the she looked like a cheap tramp.

Holding back a tear (she had become a pro at it) Rachel headed downstairs, glad that her fathers had already left for work. They were beyond worried about her. They took her to a doctor when the vomiting persisted, even though the medication never helped, and when they saw the empty look in her eyes they suggested she see a therapist, but she refused. After all there was nothing wrong but her.

When she walked into Geography first hour, ready to take her final and be done for the day, she was surprised to see Noah sitting in his seat behind her. He caught her surprised look and smirked at her "Missed me Berry?" He hadn't attended class in about a month, apparently "first hour is just too fucking early for me to deal with!". But it made sense that he had shown up to take the final, if wanted to pass the class that is. Rachel didn't doubt he had a Cheerio or something steal the final answers for him.

"No." she said unsmiling as she took her seat.

"Woah, woah, woah! Flag on the play!" he said sitting forward "No classic Rachel Berry lecture with the big words that no one fucking understands? You sick or something?" Puck looked her up and down, eyes lingering on her baggy clothes.

He had been watching her in glee for awhile now. Watched her slowly get thinner then she already was (which was really fucking hard to do since she was so small in the first place.) He had seen the light extinguished in her eyes. He didn't like it because she wasn't the Rachel Berry he knew anymore, she was different, and quieter, and not the good "Oh I'm gonna stop randomly telling people off and deflate my head a little bit!" quieter, but the "Oh my god, something is fucking wrong!" quieter.

Rachel didn't even answer him, just turned around to face the front of the room.

An eating disorder did not sound like something Rachel Berry would do. Before whatever the hell was going on now started to happen she had been the poster child for high self esteem. (Plus he once heard her say she doesn't have a gag reflex and come on, how hot is that?) But it was the only thing that seemed to fit. She obviously had something wrong with her health. No one was that skinny without there being a serious problem.. He also didn't miss the fact that it was over 70 degrees outside but she was wearing a sweater and leggings. Puck remembered from health (yeah so he paid attention sometimes, fuck off about it) that when a person has an eating disorder all there fat like disappears, or some shit like that, so they get cold and have to wear a bunch of layers. AND Rachel Berry never wore leggings, not even in the dead of winter (puck couldn't blame her for that. She's got nice legs, why not show them off?)

"Rachel will you please talk to me?" That caused her to snap her head around.

"You called me Rachel." she said stunned.

"Uh," Puck said, just as surprised as she was " Yeah, so?"

She looked at him for a moment and then shrugged, not able to come up with a better response. Luckily Mr. O walked in at that moment to start the test. "Ok kids" he said rubbing his hands together "put all your thumbing devices away, take out your pencils, and get ready for the most awesome final eva!" Most of the kids in the room laughed, but Rachel and Puck weren't among them, to wrapped up in their own thoughts to concentrate on their happy-go-lucky geography teacher.

****GLEE****

Rachel didn't get out of class fast enough after the final. Puck was beside her before she even had a chance to blink. "Come on Berry." he said waiting for her to gather the notes on her desk. "We're skipping!" he shot her a smile which she returned with a frown.

"I can't skip Noah. It would be immoral."

"Give it a break Berry! This is the only final we've got today, your gonna be doing absolutely nothing in all your other classes." He looked her up and down once again. "Plus skipping is healthy every now and then and that's something you fucking need."

"What do you mean?" she asked sadly, waiting for a speech about how she looked fat and ugly and that she wasn't good for anything, so it surprised her when he looker at her worriedly.

" Rachel, you look like you're about to fuckin fall apart. When was the last time you had a full meal?"

"Last night." she said truthfully. Daddy had made his famous chicken and noodles. (Not that Rachel hadn't thrown it up after Finn left.)

"Ok," Puck said sarcastically "Let me rephrase the question. When was the last time you ate a full meal without puking it up afterwards?"

She gasped. How could Puck have known? Was it that obvious? Rachel thought she had been hiding it well. Puck took one look at Rachel's wide eyes and shocked expression before nodding. "That's what I thought. Now come on, we're out of here."

To stunned to do anything else, Rachel let Puck drag her out to his truck. They got in and he quickly turned the radio on to some alternative rock station that she had never listened to. They didn't talk for the longest time until Rachel's curiosity got the better of her.

"Noah where are we going?"

He didn't take his eyes off the road as he simply said "You'll see." She huffed in frustration, but didn't press for information like she normally would. When they passed the Lima city limits Rachel glance at Puck skeptically, to which he smiled at, still keeping his eyes on the road.

Just when Rachel was about to break and demand for Puck to tell her where in the world he was taking him, they stopped. She turned to look at him. "You brought me all the way out here for this?"

"Looks can be deceiving." He jumped out of the truck. Rachel grudgingly took off her seatbelt and followed Puck into a small shabby looking diner right off of the highway, surrounded by trees. It was not the kind of place that Rachel Berry frequented.

As they entered an older (probably in her sixties Rachel guessed) red haired hostess look at them and laughed "Now Puck, aren't you supposed to be at school? It's your last day isn't it?"

Puck smiled at her "Already finished all my finals Mrs. Jons. There's no point sitting around all day when your not doing anything in class."

"Well, I suppose that makes since. And I've told you a million times to call me Maggie!" Her eyes flicked to Rachel. "Who is this?"

"This is Rachel Berry." Rachel raised her hand in a small wave as Puck introduced her. Maggie smiled and shot a small look at Puck. He gave a short nod and Maggie's smile brightened ten fold as she showed them to a booth in the back, away from the rest of the diners, for which Rachel was grateful for. Maggie handed them menus and then left them alone.

"How do you know her?' Rachel asked as soon as Maggie left.

"My uncle owns this place I've been coming here since I was little. She's been here even longer than that." He smiled "I know everyone who works here. They're kinda like a second family to me."

She nodded and adverted her eyes to the menu. Last night she had a brutal vomiting session after a particularly harsh conversation with Finn. They had been dating for awhile now and he was ready to advance physically in their relationship. She wasn't. Needless to say the night had not ended well for Rachel. Just looking at the names of the food offered was enough to make her wanna cough up her guts. Puck noticed the discomfort in Rachel's face.

"It's not gonna kill you if you fucking eat something, though it probably will if you don't."

"It's not like that." she barely whispered it, but he heard.

"Well then what the fuck is it like Rach? Huh? I'm sure as hell not gonna sit around and watch you kill yourself." He was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He didn't deal well with crying girls, cause that shit was defiantly not his forte. He softened immediately. "Rachel, look at me." She picked her head up. His eyes were the most serious she had even seen them. "I don't know what the fucks going on with you, but let me help. You helped me out after the whole baby gate fiasco. You got everyone else to talk to me again, convinced Quinn to let me be there when Beth was born, so let me help you now. Please Rach." He stared at her until she finally spoke.

"I'm not throwing up on purpose." Rachel's gaze dropped to the folded hands in her lap, not able to look him in the eye. "It just happens. I hate doing it, and it does nothing but bad things for my voice. My dads have taken me to the doctor, but nothing helps. I still end up puking my guts out every night with absolutely no control over it." she raised her eyes back to him. "It sucks."

After a moment Puck spoke "Uh, sorry." He looked embarrassed. "I thought you were throwing up on purpose. Didn't realize it was medical shit or whatever."

"It's ok." Rachel said avoiding his eyes again. "I see where the assumption could come from. I've been trying to hide it, I don't want people to worry."

"You're not telling me everything." She winced, he seemed to be able to see right through her bull shit. "You can trust me. I know I'm a badass and everything, but that's not who I really am. I found that out being in glee and shit this year. I realized that when I was throwing kids in dumpster, and giving them swirles, and tossing slushies on people, that I was just mad that my dad left, and was taking it out on other people instead of dealing with it. But I get that now, and I'm a better person because of it. So please Rachel. Trust me."

"It's nothing." Rachel fidgeted a little. After all it was nothing. Every couple had fights and went through rough patches. He'd only hit her once on accident, and hadn't done it since. So why did Rachel feel the need to tell Puck everything? He was looking at her expectantly "You're not gonna let this go are you?"

"HELL NO!" He said with a chuckle. "I don't give up that easily, but for now I'll drop it."

"Thank you." Rachel said as Maggie came back to take their orders. Having never eaten at the diner before Rachel told Puck to order for her. They made small talk until the food arrived, talking about glee and Puck's younger sister Sarah. Rachel learned that Puck brought Sarah to the diner every Saturday morning for breakfast to catch with her about the week. Rachel thought it was sweet, Puck just rolled his eyes and smiled at her.

By the time food had arrived and they started eating (double cheeseburgers with fries) a feeling was bubbling in Rachel's stomach that was nothing like the one she got with Finn. It was nice, warm, and bubbly, instead of making her want to worship the nearest porcelain god. Rachel found herself laughing and smiling like she hadn't done in a long time. She was actually enjoying herself, and with Noah Puckerman of all people! The same boy who had made freshmen year a living hell, was now making Rachel the happiest she'd been in months.

"I have a question." She said as the empty plates were taken away.

"Shoot."

'Well, if you know you don't like throwing kids in dumpsters then why do you do it?"

He sighed. "All about appearances babe. I'm a badass! Gotta make people fear me. Don't wanna be the one getting thrown in the dumpster."

She frowned and timidly reached her hand a crossed the table, placing her hand over his. "You don't need to do that Noah. You shouldn't be worried what other people think of you."

"I know." His hand was on fire where hers was touching his. "I guess I'm just not there yet."

"I understand." their eyes were locked and for a moment they couldn't look away. All Puck wanted to do was lean over the table and kiss her. Rachel didn't know what she was feeling and pulled back suddenly when she remembered Finn. Because Rachel was in love with Finn and definitely not in love with Puck. Right?

"Thank you for this Noah," Rachel said as they both stood up to leave "I really needed it." she smiled at him and he returned it.

"No problem Berry." After Puck paid at the counter they walked back out to his truck. When Rachel took a look at the clock in the dashboard she saw that it was only 12:32, Puck noticed it too. "We are so not going back to school!" he said catching the look on Rachel's face as he pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. Rachel was about to ask (again) where they were going, but he cut her off. "Don't even think about it Berry! You'll see when we get there."

Normally she would have protested and demanded that he either tell her where he was taking or she would press charges of kidnapping, but today she didn't. Rachel was in such a good mood that she was content with listening to alt rock (not her usual choice), letting her hair blown in the wind with the windows down, and having absolutely no idea where Puck was taking her.

As they returned within the Lima city limits Rachel couldn't help but think: _Why am I never this happy with Finn?_

AN/: Hop you liked it! Please review if you did or if you didn't like it =D And I'm trying to update as quickly as possible, with swim practice and Grease rehersals I don't have alot of time during the week, but I'm trying my best to get it all up quickly! Thanks for reading! Toodles!


	4. Chapter 4

Normally Rachel loved the water. When she was little her dads would take her to the community pool a few street down and she would swim for hours. However, at the moment, she hated it with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns, and she wasn't being overdramatic.

Puck had brought her to a sparkling lake, hidden away on a back road saying it was a "good place to think." Rachel had jokingly suggested that they go swimming, Puck said it was a great idea and they were definitely doing it. One feel of the icy water was enough to discourage even a badass like Puck. Though it was relatively warm outside (Rachel was stuffy in her many layers) the water remained chilly courtesy of a colder than average Ohio spring.

But of coarse being Rachel's usual self, something was bound to go wrong, She had turned around sharply at the edge of the wooden dock they were standing on and lost her balance. A second later the icy water was all around her and she struggled to gain footing on the slippery floor of the lake.

Before Rachel could pull herself together or even think Puck's hands were grabbing her by the shoulders and lifting her up. Placed back on the dock she sat shivering violently as Puck sweeped his eyes from her feet to her head. "Are you ok? Fuck Rach, what hurts?"

"I'm fine." she said still shaking with cold. "Nothing hurts."

"You sure?"

"Y-yes I'm sure." The stutter in her voice didn't have him fooled though. Before she could protest he picked her up and started carrying her to his truck parked a few feet away. "What are you doing?" Rachel asked furiously (though she did enjoy the way his closeness was radiating heat to her body.)

"Getting you in to dry clothes Berry." He put her down and opened the passenger door for her. She got in and he walked around to the other door, starting the engine and turning the heater on for her. After a moment of rummaging in the back seat he produced a t-shirt and a pair of basketball short. "Put these on." He threw the clothes at her which she caught tentatively.

"I am NOT changing in front of you Noah!" Rachel said blushing at the very idea.

"Well you're not staying in those! So take it off! I don't want you calling me next week bitchin about how you got a cold and can't sing properly because of it."

"Fine! Just go behind those trees, so you're not watching! I'll yell at you when I'm done." Puck rolled his eyes but turned his back on her and disappeared behind a group of maples 20 feet from the truck. Rachel quickly pulled off her soaked clothes.

When she had on his McKinley High Football shirt (which was more like a dress considering it came down to just above her knees.) and shorts (again more like pants.) she called out the he was done as she stumbled out of the truck with her wet clothes in hand. Puck strolled back into view and laughed at the site of his oversized clothes on her (he had to admit though, he REALLY like the site of her in his stuff, totally hot!)

He held out his hand "Give me the wet stuff. If we lay it in the sun it'll be dry in no time." She handed over the sopping material and followed him back onto the dock making sure to steer clear of the edges. Puck laughed as she saw her moving cautiously, one foot in front of the other, down the exact middle. They laid each garment flat in the sun and stood back for a moment.

Nature was always something Rachel appreciated. Sure, she was more of an inside girl, but when the sun hit the water in a way that made a thousand sparkles jump up to meet the eye it was hard not to find it beautiful, and today that was exactly what was happening. The sky was clear baby blue with puffy white clouds slowly drifting a crossed it . A cool summer wind was blowing making Rachel's hair fan out behind her. It was perfect.

"Rachel, what the fuck is on your arm?"

The blood in her veins was quickly replaced with ice. All the air in the world was sucked away as utter and complete terror crashed over her body. Looking down her eyes saw the purple hand shaped bruise prominent against her pale skin. The same mark Puck's eyes where glued to. How could she have so careless? She hadn't even thought about the marks covering her body when she changed. She thanked god that the "shorts" came down past her knees so he couldn't see the cuts and scrapes there.

Rachel quickly pulled the sleeves of the shirt down past her elbows. "It's nothing!" she hurriedly stammered.

"That is definitely not nothing Rachel!" His eyes were boring into hers as he walked up next to her and lifted the sleeve of the shirt up as she was trying desperately to keep it down. It wasn't much of a fight, soon he had both sleeves pull up to her shoulders, fully exposing her arms.

One look at them made Puck want to throw up, and he now got why Rachel had been doing it so often. The ones that stood out the most were the same he had spotted a second ago (clearly done very recently), but there were other older bruises, all varying in shades and colors, all the way up and down her arm. There was hardly a spot of unharmed skin.

"Rachel," He said voice shaking with anger he was trying to repress for whoever had done this. "Who did this to you?"

She wouldn't look him in the eye. She couldn't look him in the eye, because if she did she might tell him, and that could NOT happen! "No one, I just….. I just….." She looked around wildly, hoping an excuse would materialize out of the air and present itself to her.

""Don't even try to lie to me Rach! That bruise is in the shape of a hand! Someone did this to you! And by my guess they've been doing it for a while!" Rachel wasn't looking at him, eyes focused intently on the ground. Puck couldn't stand not being able to see her eyes, to know what she was feeling. He gently brought his hand to her face and lifted her chin up so their eyes connected. One look into her chocolate orbs and a ridiculous idea popped into his head. "Finn?"

The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. _How did this happen? _He thought wildly. How had Puck's best friend (well former best friend) come to the point of abusing Rachel Berry? At the beginning of the school year Finn couldn't swat a fly for fear of hurting it.

But that time also seemed like an eternity ago. So much had happened in such a little time. Puck had (accidentally) knocked up Quinn Fabray, while she was dating Finn. Finn was obviously angry (ok so more than angry, furious seemed the better word choice) about the whole thing, just like how Puck had felt about his dad leaving. But instead of doing what Puck did and taking out his anger on random nerds (and it's not like he ever REALLY hurt them, just embarrassed them a lot.) Finn had taken it out on Rachel, who was to in love with him to leave when she needed to.

Puck was pissed, to put it lightly. He was so mad at Finn all he wanted to do was scream and yell, but he also knew that was the exact opposite of what Rachel needed right now. He pushed the rage to the back of his mind, putting his arms around her, bring her face to his chest.

Rachel was sobbing, with no way of controlling it. All she could do was grab onto Puck shirt and cry. Finn loved her, he had said it multiple times himself, so why didn't he act like it? He never just held her hand for no reason or kissed her when other people were around. He never just held her like Puck was doing now. She wanted the old pre-baby gate Finn back. The one who would sing stupid love songs with her and send her heart skyrocketing when he smiled. All of that was gone, so why did she still love him? _Because love sucks._

As she got herself back under control Puck loosened his grip and looked into her eyes. His were soft, but intense, hers were sad, broken, and still filled with tears threatening to escape.

He broke the silence. "Rachel, you deserve so much better than that."

Rachel sniffed and shook her head "No, I don't."

"Fuck Rachel, of coarse you do! No one in the world deserves it! You don't need him!"

"I do." the tears were flowing again as she stepped back out of his arms, hugging herself to keep from falling apart. "He loves me! He said so! I'm the one who doesn't deserve him!"

"He's hurting you! He gave you those bruises!" A memory came to his mind and clicked into place. "This is why you has the big bruise on your cheek a few months ago wasn't it? He hit you."

"It was only once!" she was practically yelling as she continued. "And he promised me that it would never happen again and it hasn't!"

"And what about the ones on your arms huh? How'd they get there?"

"He didn't mean to!" A sob broke through Rachel's chest as she struggled to keep speaking. The nausea was back full force and she didn't know how long she could fight it. "Its just an accident! And it doesn't happen all the time! He's going through lot! He gets angry sometimes!"

"That doesn't mean he should take it out on you1" Puck took a step forward and Rachel flinched. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her longingly. "Rachel, I would never hurt you in a million years." When he stepped forward again she didn't move and allowed him to come up right next to her. "I don't see how anyone could ever hurt you. You might be fucking crazy, but that's one of the best things about you. Your beautiful, nice, smart, and pretty fuckin adorable most of the time. Please, don't do this to yourself."

"But I love him." Puck could feel his chest tighten at her words. He didn't know how or exactly when, but somehow he had fallen for Rachel Berry, fallen hard. It was killing him seeing her like this, so hurt, so broken. He would get her away from Finn if it was the last thing he did. He would make sure that no one laid a hand on her ever again.

"You don't love him." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "You might have loved him once, but you don't anymore. You can't love someone unless you love yourself first. He's made you into someone your not. You don't use those insanely big words anymore. You don't sing as much. You even stopped wearing the knee socks, which are cute as hell. He's made you hate yourself, when you are the most wonderful person in the world." He reached his hand out and gently (very gently) pull her to him. "Don't lose who you are Rachel. No one wants to lose you."

He was right, she didn't love herself anymore. Truth was she absolutely hated herself. She felt worthless all the time, like she didn't deserve to be loved. The nausea was to much and she couldn't stop it this time. She pulled herself away from Puck and ran to the side of the dock, emptying her stomach. She felt him pull her hair back and rub circles into her back as she dry heaved painfully, tears running down her face. When Rachel finally stopped his arms were around her once again. Her hand went to her mouth hastily wiping it off. She rested her head against the crook of his neck.

Neither knew how long they just sat there, it could have been hours or just a few minutes. They were the only two people in the entire world. After what seemed an eternity Puck pulled back slightly. She was so close, just a few more inches and the distance between them would be nonexistent, but he could see the hesitancy in her eyes. Rachel probably wasn't ready, he didn't even know if she was gonna leave Finn willingly (but there was no way in fucking hell that she was ever coming within 100 feet of him again). Puck's judgment however, was clouded by how soft her lips looked and how close they were. He leaned his head towards her, but stopped with an inch or two still separating them, letting her decide if she wanted to close the distance.

They stayed like that for a minute that felt like forever. Rachel's mind was working at a mile a minute. She had no idea what she was feeling, or what the hell was going on. Did she want to kiss him? The warm bubbling feeling from the diner was back again, but before she had a chance to react a sharp ringing filled the air. They jumped apart, ripped out of their bubble.

Puck sighed and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. _SARAH_ was flashing a crossed the screen. He flipped the phone open and backed up so there was a normal amount of distance between them, but still kept an arm around her shoulder. "What do you want Sarah?"

Rachel was beyond confused. Her head was spinning. She had wanted to kiss Noah, she would be kissing him now if his phone hadn't rang. What about Finn? What would he do when he found out? It wouldn't be good, she knew that much. This was exactly what Finn was afraid of happening. Rachel cheating on him just like Quinn had done, and with the same guy too. She was no better than Quinn was. But did she really deserve what Finn was doing to her? Now that she had talked to Noah she wasn't so sure.

She was starting to think rationally again. Was there ever an excuse for hurting someone, and repeatedly at that? Was there an apology that could make it ok and all the pain go away? No, there wasn't. Why had she let it get this far? She was Rachel Michelle Berry for god sake! She did not let herself get thrown around and beaten up by a guy, but it had happened. She had let it happen. As her stomach jolted with pain once again she gasped, finally able to put a name to what emotion it was.

_Shame._ She had been so ashamed at herself for putting up with Finn that she was making herself sick. Her body knew way before her heart did that what Finn was doing was wrong, and she had all but ignored it. How did she not see this sooner?

"Ok Sarah, I'll be there in a little bit, k….. Yeah, bye." Puck shut his phone and Rachel focused her eyes on him, having been staring out into space. He opened his mouth "My sister's ride bailed on her and I have to go pick her up. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." she said a very small, but genuine, smile on her face. Puck smiled back and stood up offering his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. They collected her clothes (which were now dry) and headed back to the truck.

When they were in he looked at her "You ok?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm the most ok I've been in a long time." She smiled "Thanks for that."

"Anytime babe."

AN/: I hope you liked this chapter! Leave me a review telling me how you would like to punish Finn! Lol! This whole story is seven chapters total so we are over half way done! WOOH! =D


	5. Chapter 5

AN/: Sorry this one took longer than normal to get up. I had it all typed up and ready to publish on Friday, but then my internet went out :P and we just got it back up! SO YAY FPR INTERNET AGAIN! (I've had nothing to do without it, which really says that I need to get a life! But I am forever greatful for NCIS Marathons on USA!) Not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I'll let you decide that for yourself! Thanks bunches to all the reviewers and people who have added to their story alerts and favorites! There really is no better feeling than checking my email and seeing it full of people alerting and reviewing so thanks for that! =D NOw on with the chapter!

They picked Sarah up from the local middle school before dropping Rachel off at McKinley to get her car. Sarah had practically squealed when she saw Rachel sitting in the front seat on the truck. She recognized her from the glee club performances Sarah had attended and went into a long winded speech (that could give Rachel a run for her money) about how wonderful Rachel's voice was. "You are SO GOOD! How'd it happen? Did you take a lot of voice lessons when you were little or is it just natural born talent? I just wish I was as good as you were!"

"Thanks you." Rachel said blushing. Puck glanced sideways at her. He had never known Rachel Berry to be humble about her singing. She was the best and she knew it, but it looked like Finn had changed that about her too. Puck knew it would take a awhile to get the old Rachel back, but he was more than willing to help her get there.

As soon as Rachel stepped out of the truck Sarah (figuratively) pounced on him, climbing into tot the front seat. "Are you two dating?" she looked like she might explode with excitement.

"No." He said shortly, watching Rachel get into her pink prius as they pulled away.

'Well you like her! I can tell!"

"Sarah, can we please not talk about this right now."

"Well she obviously likes you too. I'm good at figuring out these things! And you know mom would be happy if you dated her, she's Jewish!"

"Yeah I know."

****GLEE****

_What the fuck happened today?_

Normally Rachel didn't condone the use of curse words, but in this case it seemed to punctuate exactly what she was feeling (and she had spent the whole day with Puck who cursed every other word so maybe it had rubbed off on her a little bit). She had started the day thinking she was in love with Finn with all her heart, now she wasn't so sure. And was it possibly that she liked Noah? He was nice to her, and he didn't hurt her, two things that Finn didn't do.

She was positive that she no longer wanted Finn to touch her though.. She was done with that.

Before she knew it she was in her driveway. Looking at the clock she was surprised to see it was only 4:00 pm. Today had seemed so long, yet school had only let out 45 minutes ago. That's when she looked up.

Once again the feeling of ice replacing the blood in her body came crashing unto her like a tidal wave. Her mind was numb while thinking frantically of what to do. She fumbled with her phone, digging it out of her bag and quickly sent a text before getting out. Hoping he would get her message quickly Rachel turned her attention the very annoying looking Finn Hudson standing on her porch.

"Hi." she said shyly managing a small forced smile.

He glared, making her cringe. "You wanna tell me what the hell you did today?"

"I only had a first hour final so I though I would, um, go watch a movie and hit the mall for the rest of the day." She knew before the words halfway out her mouth that he didn't buy it.

"I saw you leaving school with Puck." They stared at each other for awhile. Rachel was petrified. Finn was getting angrier with each passing moment, his face turning redder. "Get inside." he gestured to the door, taking a step in it's direction.

"I'd rather stay outside." _more witnesses that way_ Rachel thought.

"Get inside!" he reached out and grabbed her arm putting pressure on the bruises already present. She yelped and considered screaming out for help, maybe a neighbor would hear her. She stayed silent however, her throat not able to produce sound as Finn pulled her to the door.

She looked around, looking for a way out. Not able to find a solution she took out her key and placed it in the lock, turning it slowly as Finn tapped his foot impatiently behind her. _What a day for my dads to be in court._ Finn shut the door once they were both inside and stepped into the living room, turning around to face her.

"I knew you were no better than Quinn. All along you said you loved me and that you'd never hurt my, but there you go, cheating on me with the same guy she did, my best friend! How could you do this to me Rachel?"

"Finn it's not what you think." He looked about ready to blow and it was making a horrible feeling fill Rachel.

"Then what the hell is it? You're nothing but a whore!"

She felt the familiar sting of his words settle in her mind and willed herself not to believe him. He was in the wrong not her. "Finn, I'm tired of you treating me like I'm worthless! I'm tired of you pushing me around! Noah is my friend and I should be able to hang out with him without you freaking out."

"Yeah right, just play the victim, when, in reality, you're the one who's causing all of this! It's all your fault! You ARE worthless!"

"Stop it!" She put her hand over her ears, trying to block it out, but his words were seeping through the bubble she had placed around her mind. She could feel the shame in her stomach as he continued.

"I can't even believe you! Trying to act all innocent when it's all you! So stop trying to blame me, I've done nothing wrong!"

A part of Rachel snapped at that. "What? You've done nothing wrong? Everyday, I come home with bruises on me, caused my you!"

"SHUT UP! IT"S YOUR FAULT! He grabbed her arms tightly and she winced. "IT"S YOUR FAULT!" With a jerk of his arms Rachel was on the ground. She felt herself collide with the coffee table behind her. It crunched underneath her weight and her head bounced against he hardwood floor. She heard a loud crack and then the world went dark.

****GLEE****

After a full car ride of unsuccessfully trying to get his sister to shut the fuck up, Puck arrived at home. Sarah jumped from the truck and skipped to the front door, opening it (He swears, who the hell is that fucking happy all the time?)

Upon entering he set his cell phone and keys on the kitchen counter. Sarah was yelling from the other room to come in and play with her so he made his way into the living room. She wanted to play UNO, which he thought she was to old for (seriously, what twelve year old plays UNO?), but played none the less. (He totally creamed her just for the record. She accused him of cheating, but he honestly didn't. He was just THAT good.)

After a few rounds of being a badass UNO player Puck got up to get a drink out of the fridge. Entering the kitchen he pick his cell phone up off the counter. Flipping it open he saw he had one new message. Clicking the view button, the name BERRY was in the FROM column and he smiled. The smile quickly slid off his face and turned into a panicked frown as he read the message and grabbed his keys, yelling to Sarah that there was an emergency and not to leave the house.

He sprinted out to his car, eyes burning with the words Rachel had sent to him:

_He's here. Help_

An/: ooohhh cliffy! lol Thanks for reading and please review! (pretty please with a cherry on top!) =D


	6. Chapter 6

AN/: You guys really blow my mind! This story is at 50 reviews! I can't believe it! So thank you thank you thank you! Sorry for the cliffy last chapter I couldn't help it! But enough of pointless things! I present to you Chapter 6!

Puck was pretty sure he broke every traffic law getting to Rachel's house, got there in record time too. When he pulled into the driveway her pink prius was parked there, but not Finn's car. Puck hoped to god that Finn had simply left without dong anything to her, but a feeling in his stomach told him that wasn't the case.

He was out of the truck in a nano second and up on the porch. Turning the door knob he saw it was unlocked and pushed the door open, taking frantic steps inside. He was stunned for only a second before springing into action.

Rachel was lying on the floor, the splintered remains of wood surrounding her. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. Puck thanked god that Mike had convinced him into taking a lifeguarding coarse with him that year (which included first aid and CPR, though he wished he would never have to use it). He squatted next to her and leaned down, his ear above her mouth, checking for breathing. Thankfully he could hear and feel it, slow, but steady against his face. Careful not to jostle her (just incase she had a back injury.) he pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

He told them his friend was unconscious, had possibly hit her head, and Rachel's address. They would arrive in about 7 minutes.

When he looked around he saw no signs of Finn, which set a fire through his body. He had just left her, unconscious and hurt. He ran out when he finally had to face what he had done. Puck swore to himself that he would make Finn pay, former best friend or not, he crossed a major line.

The eight minutes it took the paramedics to arrive were the worst eight minutes of Puck's life. He couldn't stop shaking, just hoping and praying to god Rachel would be alright. He continued to monitor her airway, breathing, and circulation (Again the silently thanked Mike and his need to get a summer job at a pool.).

_How did we get here? How the hell?_

Puck had only ever seen one musical in his life. It was his mom and sisters thing. Every year for Sarah's birthday they would go watch a show. When Sarah turned 10 she wanted to see RENT. A series of events including a fight at school and having no one to watch him for the night (even though he reminded his mom multiple times that he was fourteen and didn't need a fucking babysitter) led Puck to be pulled along. He'd been positive that he would hate it. It was a musical and badasses didn't do musicals. He was very surprised to find that he loved it (not that he would admit that to anyone.). It wasn't what he thought it would be, the music was actually good and not all showy, flashy, and well, gay. Even though there wasn't a lack of gay people in the play.

_How did we get here? How the hell?_

That one line from the song "Halloween" kept playing over and over in his head. What had happened today? How had he gone from bribing a Cheerio to steal the answers to his geo final to trying to save an unconscious Rachel Berry? Would this day be like the first act of RENT? Would they look back years from now and tag it as he one that changed everything? Rachel had to be alright. She just had to. There was no other option.

The paramedic arrived and asked Puck questions. He tried his best to answer, but he didn't know if she had any allergies or if she had any medical conditions they needed to know about. They strapped her to the back board. Puck could barely watch. She looked so frail help on by the straps, limp against it. They said it was good he didn't move her, she had probably hurt her neck.

He wasn't allowed to ride in the ambulance with her, he wasn't family, which reminded him of her fathers.

Rachel's cell phone was laying on the ground next to where she had fallen, He picked it up and left to follow the ambulance. _She must have dropped it when Finn pushed her_ he thought. He pushed the blinding rage away momentarily (but no way in hell was he forgetting about it.). Puck scrolled through her contacts as he jumped in his car and shoved the keys into the ignition. He found what he was looking for and pressed talk as he threw the car in reverse. Taking a deep breath he followed after the ambulance.

"Hello Mr. Berry…I'm a friend of Rachel's, listen, something has happened.

****GLEE****

The light was burning her eyes. A great feat considering they were closed. It was to bright like staring into the sun. She tried to move her hand to block her eyes, but couldn't because it was being weighted down by something hard wrapped around her skin.

She panicked and started breathing heavily. A beeping was going off in her ear. Hands came down on her shoulders and she whimpered.

"Rachel, it's ok! No one's going to hurt you."

Rachel recognized the voice and took a deep breath, the beeping slowing down to a steady rhythm. It took more energy that normally necessary to open her eyelids, but when she was finally able to pry them open she saw Puck standing over her, worry etched on every inch of his face.

"What?" she swept her eyes a crossed the room. White walls surrounded , the beeping was coming from a machine to her right. "What Happened?" Rachel remembered taking her final, leaving with Puck, going to the diner, falling in the lake, picking up Sarah, and then….

"You don't remember?" She shook her head, but stopped abruptly, the motion making her head throb. She closed her eyes for a moment and took another deep breath, trying to remember. "When you got home Finn was waiting for you."

The memory hit her like a freight train and her eyes snapped open. He saw the fear in her eyes and took her hand, lowering in the chair seated by her bedside. 'What's wrong with me?"

He sighed locking eyes with her, but looked down quickly. "You broke your wrist, landed on it from what they can see, and you have a minor concussion."

Looking down at her hand she saw it was covered in a bright pink cast. "My dads?"

"They are on there way. It took them awhile to get out of court, but once they were able to explain to the judge, he postponed the trial.

She nodded and was taken aback to realize there were tears in the eyes. She raised her good hand to wipe them away, but Puck was still clutching onto it. Their eyes came together and this time he didn't look away.

"Rachel I have to tell you something before I lose my nerve. And it might not change a fucking thing, but I have to try." He swallowed, obviously nervous, but preceded anyway. "Finn went way to far this time, not saying he hadn't gone to far the other times but, shit Rach! He could have done so much worse than a broken wrist and concussion! Especially since he just left you there unconscious."

"He left me?"

"Yeah." Puck shook his head. "And I swear to you Rachel that he is gonna pay for what he did to you. And you're never going back to him, I will never let that happen again. I know that I'm a jerk most of the time and that I care about my rep to much and I know I've got baggage, but I would never hurt you Rach. I would literally kill myself before I laid a hand on you. I get that you're gonna need some time to get your life back together, and I just want you to know that I'm here for you and that I care."

Rachel's eyes were swimming with tears when he was done. "Thank you." she said simply, smiling sadly at him.

He snaked his arms around her shoulder and they sat. The only two people in the world.

AN/: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review! ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT! I'm gonna miss this story, but I have a few more stories coming up which I will explain next chapter! And also I just want to give a special musical shout-out to the musical American Idiot (is anyone else supremely pissed they didn't with the Best Musical Tony?) because I listened to 21 Guns over and over again while typing this! JGJ 3 lol Oh and I have a twitter which you should defiantly check out (maybe) I just post really random shit most of the time! My username is Learning2Fall86! Well thank you for reading, really you guys rock!


	7. Chapter 7

AN/: Sorry this took awhile. My internet keeps going out and its making me sad =(. Special note! I dedicate this chapter to two of my best friends in the world ! First is VioletButterfly12 (aka my "momma" XD) for being wonderful and having a review that made me laugh really REALLY hard and because she called me early to tell me to put this up cause she needed it! IT HERE NOW! =D And second is to my friend Brent who would pull on my arm when I was writing this in class to say to "stop writing and talk to me!" P.S. I snuck both of you in this chapter! I lalalala love you both!

"I don't think I'm ready for this Noah."

"It's ok babe, I got you covered." Puck winked and Rachel rolled her eyes as they pushed open the doors of William McKinley High School.

Summer had blown by in a heart beat, and suddenly it was September. Despite having a really shitty beginning the summer was the best Rachel ever had. The days were spent at voice lessons and musical practice (she had landed the role of Sandy in community theatre's production of Grease.) while the nights consisted of hanging out with Noah.

He had been right when he guessed she would need some time to get back to normal. And just like he said he was always there to help her and tell her she was beautiful when she couldn't think it herself. The panic attacks were also a problem. It happened at random times. A memory would be jogged by something small. (It first happened when Puck suggested they eat at the same pizza place Finn had first insulted her. Puck had felt guilty for days afterwards.) and she found herself not able to breath. When they would happen Puck would hold her and rub circles into her back until she could breath again, all the while whispering that he would never let anyone hurt her ever again.

They hadn't dated. Puck didn't want to push her into something she wasn't ready for (which was really different for him, not jumping into a relationship like in the past, if those were even what you could call a relationship.) As summer drew to a close he could tell she felt the same way he did. The sexual tension was so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife. It was obvious they cared for each other. A day hardly went by without them being together, but they waited, testing the water, waiting for Rachel's wound to heal.

It was the last weekend before school started up that things changed. It was there last chance together before things went back to "normal". They were laying in her backyard, looking up at the stars, not wanting the summer to end. Puck knew this was when it had to happen. And it did.

That first kiss was even more than either of them ever imagined. When they broke apart 1000 watt smiles lit up both of their faces and Rachel knew that this would be ok.. That he wouldn't hit her, or call her names, just love her, no strings attached, no boundaries.

They walked into school hand in hand, not caring about the looks they received. Lima was a small town, news traveled fast. Every person and their mother knew what had happened with Finn, even though Rachel refused to press charges, much to her fathers and Pucks disapproval and attempts to change her mind. News had also been around that there was a reason for Finn's mid June trip to the ER with a broken nose and bruised ribs (Finn told the hospital he fell on his skateboard. Nobody bought it, but didn't say anything. As far as Lima was concerned Finn got what was coming to him.)

Rachel was scared that she would run into Finn in the halls and he would try to talk to her. She clung to Puck in between classes, knowing Finn wouldn't approach her with Puck by her side.

Rachel couldn't avoid glee though, but she was happy to be back with her little family of musical misfits. Finn wasn't there when they walked in, which she was grateful for. Everyone greeted her and Puck warmly (They all felt bad they hadn't noticed anything going on between Rachel and Finn). There had two new members to glee, both freshmen. One was a short girl with brown hair wearing a smile named Kilie, and a boy with blonde highlighted hair up in a fohawk (Rachel's gay-dar was going off) who's name was Brent.

When Finn walked in no one acknowledged his existence, even though Rachel was practically shaking with fear. Puck just put his arm around her a placed a light kiss on her forehead, whispering that it would all be ok in her ear. (Finn would end up dropping out of glee a week later. Mr. Shue wouldn't give him anymore solos and everyone pretended he wasn't there, except when hey shot dagger eyes at him when he dared to speak.)

It was that moment that she knew everything would be alright. Finn would never hurt her again, and Puck (and the glee club) would protect her no matter what happened. Now she had a boyfriend that would hold her hand for no reason, who would kiss her when other people were around. Puck would just hold her and sing. She didn't need Finn. She didn't love him. Rachel Berry was better than that. And with the help of her friends, she got through it.

THE END!

AN/: I had an awesome time doing this! Thank you so much to everyone who took time out of their busy life's to read this! I have a oneshot (also Puckleberry) that should be up soon-ish. Its called Swings. I also have a idea for a multi chapter story that is the personal journal of Sue Sylvester and another Puckleberry story. So busy busy busy! Again thank you everyone! =D


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